Ordesa y Monte Perdido National Park (Parque nacional de Ordesa y Monte Perdido) is an IUCN Category II National Park situated in the Pyrenees. There has been a National Park in the Ordesa Valley since 1918. Its protected area was enlarged in 1982 to cover the whole region, amounting to 156.08 square kilometres. It has been included since 1997 by UNESCO in the Biosphere Reserve of Ordesa-Viñamala. In the same year it was included in the cross-border Pyrénées - Mont Perdu World Heritage Site because of its spectacular geologic landforms. Geology The national park was created to protect the high mountain topography of Monte Perdido and the Pyrenees. The region is dominated by limestone, with karst formations such as karren, sinkholes, and caves. The limestone originated from the Cretaceous and Eocene periods. Tectonic uplift has created deep canyons, and, during the Quaternary, repeated glaciations carved cirques and large U-shaped valleys. Climate In general, the climate is typically Pyrenean, although the difference in altitude that goes from 750 meters at the entrance of the Añisclo canyon to 3,355 meters at Monte Perdido and the original orientation of each valley, means that there is an enormous climatic variety that It should be noted: the large variations in humidity and temperature between day and night. Thermal inversions that are reflected in the distribution of vegetation floors. Variable regime of valley and mountain winds. Flora At elevations up to 1,000-1,700 meters, there are extensive forests of beeches (Fagus sylvatica), Abies alba, pines (Pinus sylvestris), oaks (Quercus subpyrenaica), and a lesser extent of birches (Betula pendula), ashes (Fraxinus excelsior), willows (Salix angustifolia). At higher elevations up to 1,700 meters, the mountain pine (Pinus uncinata) dominates. From 700 to 1,800 meters, bushes of boxwood (Buxus sempervirens) are found. In the high meadows from 1,700 to 3,000 meters, there are numerous endemisms including Borderea pyrenaica, Campanula cochleariifolia, Ramonda myconi, Silene borderei, Androsace cylindrica, Pinguicula longifolia, Petrocoptis crassifolia, etc. The Edelweiss (Leontopodium alpinum), is one of the symbols of the National Park. Fauna The most important species of the Park was the bucardo or Pyrenean ibex, which went extinct in January 2000 in spite of preservation efforts. The Pyrenean chamois is a type of goat antelope. Other species include the alpine marmot, boar, and the Pyrenean desman or water-mole (Galemys pyrenaicus), as well as raptors like the golden eagle, the bearded vulture, the griffon vulture, hawks, and the